sch_addiction ([info]sch_addiction) wrote,
@ 2005-08-18 21:28:00
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Entry tags:guest, mid-length, morrighan, snarry

Absolution

Title: Absolution
Author: Rushlight
Category: Snarry
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Snape is forced to make a difficult decision when Harry is captured by Death Eaters, and they both have to find a way to deal with the aftermath. 

'Absolution' or Another Fic Which The Snarry World Needs To Be Reminded About.
Some people say it's disturbing, and well, yes, it should be, it does begin with a rape scene after all. However what those people need to remember is that this story does not focus on the darkness of the deed itself, but rather presents an admirable struggle to deal with it afterwards, the struggle not only of the victim, but also of the offender and the strength they both need to simply live on.
I suppose it may be wrong of me to find this story peaceful, but I do. I can't help thinking that in the place where innocence and dreams were lost, something greater and far more important came to life.
'Absolution' became my "story of hope" years ago. And it has not been replaced yet.
Morrighan


guest-starring: [info]ac1d6urn

I gave in and read Absolution last night.

The impression I was left with is: somewhat disturbing (which is a good thing, coming from me!), relatively well-written, thought-out work. Harry is believably in character, and so is Snape.

But -- and this part I couldn't get over no matter how hard I tried -- it is, in a nutshell, a 'victim falls in love with the rapist' tale.

The story started well enough, I believed Snape's reasoning and inner conflict (although I would've handled the fact that he enjoyed the act in a very different way if I were to write this plotline), I believed Harry's rather mature reaction, I believed the shock and the trauma in the aftermath of the rape and inwardly thanked Rushlight for an attempt to make it realistic. OFC didn't impress me but she didn't strike me as a Mary-Sue either.

Then the romance began, and progressed, and developed, and ended on a happy note.

That I could not accept, no matter how I tried. To me the possibility of romantic ending for them became impossible after the very first paragraph into the rape scene.

Don't get me wrong, it can be done. It will only take years and a novel-length three times as long to convince me that it can be done right. So far, only The Last Battlefield by Sushi came close to convincing me absolutely.

I can't help but feel that this storyline had such a potential to explore all the psychological aspects of the aftermath of a serious trauma, but unfortunately the plot idea was romantisized yet again. I can't help but feel that there were some parts -- very important parts of the story -- that were missing from the ending. The resolution of the conflict did not seem completed at all.

Usually my tastes are similar to SCHAL recommendations, but in this case, I had to check the link twice to make sure that I was reading the same story as the rest.

I'm still not completely sure of that, by the way.
The thing is, I liked Rushlight’s writing. But it’s twice as hard to see a story with the great potential that didn’t quite become everything it could be.
(*cringes* Ugh, don't kill me, please!)


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(Anonymous)
2005-08-22 05:47 pm UTC (link)
This is one of the best stories in any fandom. Thank you.

(Reply to this)

[info]ac1d6urn
2005-08-23 12:12 am UTC (link)
I gave in and read Absolution last night.

The impression I was left with is: somewhat disturbing (which is a good thing, coming from me!), relatively well-written, thought-out work. Harry is believably in character, and so is Snape.

But -- and this part I couldn't get over no matter how hard I tried -- it is, in a nutshell, a 'victim falls in love with the rapist' tale.

The story started well enough, I believed Snape's reasoning and inner conflict (although I would've handled the fact that he enjoyed the act in a very different way if I were to write this plotline), I believed Harry's rather mature reaction, I believed the shock and the trauma in the aftermath of the rape and inwardly thanked Rushlight for an attempt to make it realistic. OFC didn't impress me but she didn't strike me as a Mary-Sue either.

Then the romance began, and progressed, and developed, and ended on a happy note.

That I could not accept, no matter how I tried. To me the possibility of romantic ending for them became impossible after the very first paragraph into the rape scene.

Don't get me wrong, it can be done. It will only take years and a novel-length three times as long to convince me that it can be done right. So far, only The Last Battlefield by Sushi came close to convincing me absolutely.

I can't help but feel that this storyline had such a potential to explore all the psychological aspects of the aftermath of a serious trauma, but unfortunately the plot idea was romantisized yet again. I can't help but feel that there were some parts -- very important parts of the story -- that were missing from the ending. The resolution of the conflict did not seem completed at all.

Usually my tastes are similar to SCHAL recommendations, but in this case, I had to check the link twice to make sure that I was reading the same story as the rest.

I'm still not completely sure of that, by the way.

The thing is, I liked Rushlight’s writing. But it’s twice as hard to see a story with the great potential that didn’t quite become everything it could be.

(*cringes* Ugh, don't kill me, please!)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]maryx_
2005-08-23 07:33 am UTC (link)
No, no killings today. Tomorrow maybe ;-)

No, seriously, I like it that you voice your own opinions, may they be similar to ours or very different. It adds some flavour.

Maryx

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[info]ac1d6urn
2005-08-24 01:29 am UTC (link)
Whew. I'm alive!

I was thinking of going over and writing a C&C review for the majority of posts that you have here, but was a bit afraid of flames or negative reactions. Because I'm an extremely picky reader and I will most likely find something wrong with every fic I read. It doesn't mean that the stories themselves are bad. Trust me, there are much more good aspects in them than bad or I wouldn't be reading them at all.

Then again, I wasn't sure if you were interested in me concentrating on the negative aspects of the fics that much and I didn't want to stir up too much trouble at once. ;)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]morrighan_sai
2005-08-23 08:08 am UTC (link)
Tomorrow came, woke me up, frightened me with the amount of work you did yesterday and there is still nothing to kill you for (*crowds walking away disappointed*) :).

It's more than that, I agree with you to some extent. It would be much better to see this plot in a complex, detailed, novel-length story and I don't doubt for a second that Rushlight has the potential to do it. But I can hardly expect any author to give up everything and write a story that would satisfy all my needs, and when faced with the choice: short and probably slightly rushed "Absolution" or NO "Absolution", I'll take the short version any time, thanks!

When I read it first, my attitude was still something along the lines of "Snape and Harry? What the hell???", so you can't blame a girl for sentimentality :). This story simply stayed in my mind while many others didn't.

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[info]ac1d6urn
2005-08-24 01:35 am UTC (link)
The crowds can be disappointed.

Whee! I was having fun yesterday. :) Although I admit, I sort of went nuts with all the reviews.

"Absolution" or NO "Absolution", I'll take the short version any time,
Oh yes, indeed! No question about it. Knowing now how much work and research goes into a longer fanfic story, I can only admire and applaud those writers who find inspiration and time to do this for us, lucky readers. :D

"Snape and Harry? What the hell???"
*snort* Was it one of your first HP/SS fics? I sort of jumped into the pairing via Switchknife recs and "the classics" so I didn't even have a chance to do the usual "WTF" routine, was hooked from the start.

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[info]morrighan_sai
2005-08-24 10:45 am UTC (link)
Knowing now how much work and research goes into a longer fanfic story, I can only admire and applaud those writers who find inspiration and time to do this for us, lucky readers. :D
Exactly. I have next to no real life with reading only so my admiration for all these people (you included) has no bounds.

Was it one of your first HP/SS fics?
It was among the first fics, yes, and I was still slightly shaken. I had just discovered fanfiction and read a couple of HP/GW or HP/HG fics, so you can imagine my shock :). But there is definitely no questioning me being hooked from the very beginning as well. The first "WTF" was quickly followed by "God, I'm never going to read anything else again!".

And I can't stop staring at your icon. It's probably the first and the best Fic Trailer in history :).

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]ac1d6urn
2005-08-24 06:07 pm UTC (link)
Oh, wow. I didn't even try out HP/GW or HP/HG fics . . . HP/RW/HG being an honorable exception. But then again, I migrated into HP from another fandom with a lot of femmeslash and sort of jumped right into slash because that's what seemed most familiar to me.

*grin* I had so many alternative versions for the "impossible task" part, and oh how I wished I could include them instead, but even the walls of Hogwarts were spoiler-y enough at the time I made the icon. :D Yep, the trailer look is exactly what I was trying for.

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